More than 2,000 primary pupils and nearly 3,500 secondary students across the region are missing a day of school a fortnight.
And 492 primary pupils and 1,475 S1 to S6 youngsters are failing to attend at least one day a week.
The “alarming” rise in pupil absence rates since the Covid pandemic has been revealed in a study carried out by the Commission on School Reform.
The independent group of education experts says young people’s anxiety at trying to return to some sort of normality is one reason for the significant drop-off.
The commission has warned that pupils who miss out on a full-time school education are less likely to get good exam results or form good relationships.
Keir Bloomer, who chairs the Commission on School Reform, said: “We were concerned about the absence rates in schools before the Covid pandemic, but matters have got substantially
worse.
“We’re now in the situation where about one young person in three is missing a half day every week, and about one in eight a full day every week.
“That’s a rate of absence which seriously impedes the learning process.
“Children who miss a large proportion of school time are less likely to attain and less likely to form good relationships, as well as being disruptive to the family environment at home and the learning environment in
class.
“School education is the most important driver of individual and national success, and it is time we recognised these links.
“In a particularly alarming trend, the absence problem gets worse as children get older, with two in five children of exam-age missing an average of a day’s school every
fortnight.
“It is impossible for a child to reach their full potential with this level of absence, and we must collectively grasp this problem before more damage is done.”
The council’s education committee chairman, Councillor Richard Brodie, said returning to school after Covid has been a “struggle” for many children.
He added: “This is a nationwide problem that goes back to Covid.
“It’s been a struggle for many children to get back into mainstream education after being isolated at home for so long where they just spent time on their computers and not doing much
else.
“I’m concerned about the impact it has had on the mental health of our young people but it is one of our council’s priorities to try to get to grips with this.”
